Editorial: AC livens up death penalty debate

Tuesday

We applaud Amarillo College for hosting a recent debate on capital punishment, which featured local attorneys arguing both sides of the issue.

These public forums are beneficial for an educational institution as well as a community, no matter what side of the death penalty you support.

It is a few days after the debate, but allow us to participate - and inject another part of the capital punishment debate that is being overlooked.

For starters, any comparison to Nazi genocide during World War II and capital punishment in America (which was mentioned in the AC debate) is so far to the radical extreme of capital punishment opponents that it is difficult to address this opinion logically. The horror and madness of Nazi genocide compares to few governmental atrocities in world history, much less the U.S. justice system.

Here's some advice for those invoking Nazis/Adolf Hitler to describe those they disagree with politically - stop. There is nothing in this day and age in America that can compare with this form of evil, and we should be thankful.

Then there is the recent issue of DNA evidence as it relates to capital punishment.

Don't forget, it is called capital "punishment," and sometimes the ultimate form of punishment is appropriate for the most heinous crimes.

When DNA evidence is available (and it is not always), does this scientific advancement not remove one of the primary concerns of death penalty opponents - that an innocent person might be put to death?

If anything, this scientific advancement - DNA - reinforces the justice behind capital punishment, because guilt or innocence can be determined on a scientific basis, when such evidence is legally applicable or available.

Ultimately, debates such as these should be welcome, and - again - thanks to Amarillo College.

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